Bosch unveils consumer MEMS

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Bosch said it has integrated into a 32-bit microcontroller a three-axis accelerometer with its first nine-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) that includes a gyroscope and magnetometer. The accelerometer also runs sensor fusion algorithms on the microcontroller.

The Bosch Sensortec BMA355 three-axis accelerometer is said to provide ultra-low-power performance while an integrated interrupt engine on the tiny device permits 12-bit resolution in small devices such as power management for hearing aids and wireless sensor nodes.

The 5- by 4.5-mm device is the first member of a new Bosch Sensortec family of Application Specific Sensor Nodes which include integrated sensor fusion. The BNO055 system-in-package performs its own sensor fusion using a 32-bit microcontroller running Bosch's FusionLib software.

By including sensor fusion algorithms that integrates separate outputs from an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer, "Bosch's FusionLib frees the design engineer from the details of characterizing and compensating for the variations in separate devices from different vendors," said said Leopold Beer, director global marketing at Bosch Sensortec (Reutlingen, Germany).

The combo offering with inertial and magnetic sensing along with sensor fusion algorithms on the micro is now the standard from big players (ST, Freescale, InvenSense, etc.). In addition to pricing, the differentiation must come from smaller form factors and vertical integrations -literally with 3D IC stacking, etc., for more integrated solution offering.
MP Divakar